Examples of Policies and Emerging Practices for Supporting Transgender Students
Publication Date: 2016
Abstract: Many transgender students (i.e., students whose gender identity is different from the sex they were assigned at birth) report feeling unsafe and experiencing verbal and physical harassment or assault in school, and these students may perform worse academically when they are harassed. School administrators, educators, students, and parents are asking questions about how to support transgender students and have requested clarity. In response, the U.S. Department of Education developed two documents: a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) about transgender students' rights and schools' legal obligations under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and these examples of policies and emerging practices that some schools are already using to support transgender students. The document shares some common questions on topics such as school records, privacy, and terminology, and then explains how some state and school district policies have answered these questions, which may be useful for other states and school districts that are considering these issues.